Poetry at Sangam

SangamHouse

 










Amaterasu the Sun Goddess’s Complaint

Being sacred: Such a hard life, boring, even.
How I wish I could show everyone my love!

Yet should I get too close, they
Will be burnt to a crisp.

But were I to keep my distance? She
Is cold, they will say, and not a
Woman of exceptional warmth.

So here I am, near and far enough,
Kept by these priests at this
Shrine in the middle of nowhere,

Men, who make money off a woman,
No shame, drinking hard and raising

Hell with that no-good brother of mine.
I could rise from this room and

Blind them all with my glory,
One touch from my hand:

Those men will be gone!
But the mother in me resists.
How can I kill my sons

And daughters? Even the
Sun Goddess must heed
The one deity more powerful
Even than her: Fate.

           New Year’s Day, Ise Shrine, Japan